Definitions HQ

The Second half of life (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠when the illusions projected on the world come home jaded and way-worn, and their energy falls back to wake what we neglected.

The Second half of life (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠an afternoon as full of meaning as the morning — only the meaning and the purpose have changed.

The Second half of life (n.) reverses ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the first: the descent towards life's afternoon demands not expansion but simplification, limitation and intensification — and not a few are wrecked in the transition.

The Second half of life (n.) turns ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠at noon like the sun: having risen to spread its rays ever wider, at the stroke of noon it begins to descend, and every ideal and value of the morning is reversed — as though it should draw in its rays instead of emitting them.

The Second half of life (n.) cannot ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠follow the plan of life's morning: what was great at dawn will be small by evening, and the morning's truth will by evening have turned into a lie.

The Second half of life (n.) has ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠no college for forty-year-olds — no school prepares us for it as schools prepare the young; our religions once were such schools.

The Second half of life (n.) brought ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠Jung not one patient whose deepest trouble was anything but finding a religious outlook on life.

The Second half of life (n.) needs ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠its own psychology: the young neurotic is afraid of life, the old one shrinks back from death, clinging to a youthful attitude now out of season.

The Second half of life (n.) no ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠longer needs to educate the will but to experience its own inner being — and an inwardly stable person turns out more socially useful than one at odds with his unconscious.

The Second half of life (n.) has ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a psychology essentially different from the first: the young, not yet knowing who they are, may rightly hold the unconscious at bay, but the same criteria do not fit every stage.

The Second half of life (n.) begins ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the soul's quiet preparation for departure, Jung said in a funeral address: soon after life's noon the flower of the spirit starts to unfold, whether or not consciousness knows it.